Regardless of whether, as is often the case at this time of year, the sun was conspicuous by its absence in this corner of the Pacific, the 71st edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance will remain a grand cru.
The California event marked the start of the festivities for the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
For the occasion, Pierre Fillon, president of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, but also Henri Pescarolo, Jacky Ickx and Tom Kristensen, respectively four times, six times and nine times winner of the event, had made the trip.
Le Mans car grid on the Laguna Seca circuit.
Stephan Cooper/© Rolex/Stephan Cooper
Many cars which have distinguished themselves in the Sarthe since 1923 were present, whether as part of the Tour d'Elegance organized on the Thursday preceding the Concours d'Élégance or competing in one of the categories of the Concours d'Elegance. elegance or whether they are entered in races at the Laguna Seca meeting.
Jaguar Type D winner of the Best of Show Rolex “The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering”.
Tom O'Neal/©Rolex/Tom O'Neal
In addition, as a prelude to the Sunday competition, the high point of Pebble Beach week, the watchmaker Rolex, official partner of most of the events that follow one another for a week in the Monterey region, presented its own trophy called
"The Quail, a Motorsport Gathering"
.
This year, the prize was awarded to a 1956 Jaguar D-Type.
Award-Winning America
The Andersons are awarded the Best of Show 2022 by Luca Bernasconi, President of Rolex USA.
Tom O'Neal/©Rolex/Tom O'Neal
The most anticipated event of the Pebble Beach week was of course the Concours d'Elegance organized on Sunday on the lawns of the golf course, on the edge of the Pacific.
A year after the crowning of the Mercedes 540 K Autobahn Kuriers of 1938 belonging to the collector Arturo Keller, the judges crowned an American car.
This had not happened since 2013. The unique Duesenberg J dressed as a torpedo in 1932 by the French coachbuilder Joseph Figoni and owned by the spouses emerged victorious from a tight battle with the Duesenberg J Graber Cabriolet of Emily Mann and two Talbots Lago, Fritz Burkard's T150C-SS coupe dressed by Figoni & Falaschi and Peter Mullin's T26 Grand Sport executed as a convertible by Farina after the war.
Tom O'Neal/©Rolex/Tom O'Neal
Recently restored, the Anderson couple's Duesenberg J is the symbol of the supremacy of French bodywork in the interwar period.
The main originality of these monumental lines lies in the treatment of the stern, similar to the bow of a boat.
After having participated in a Paris-Nice, the American-French torpedo had been delivered to the Peruvian sugar magnate Antonio Chopitea.
It was in the early 1960s that the Duesenberg made its way to the United States.
In addition, the sports car trophy was awarded to the Ferrari 250 GT bodied by Zagato in 1957, that of the Gran Turismo to the Autobianchi 112 concept car from 1969. This study carried out by Bertone was presented by the Automotoclub Storico Italiano of Torino.
In total, the 2022 edition of the Pebble Beach competition will have brought together 40 cars from 18 countries.